Environmental Sustainability in Practice

Who is Involved in Environmental Planning and Management?

Environmental planning and management involves individuals, organizations and governments. Individuals often concentrate on planning and managing their own private property. They also join with others who share an interest or concern to engage in collective action, which sometimes leads to the formation of organizations. Governments undertake environmental planning and management to ensure the interest of the public, and planning and management are funded by taxes. All levels of government are involved to some extent in environmental planning and management. Businesses (organizations with a mandate to gain profit) are involved in environmental planning and management in several ways. The environment is often an important consideration in their Environmental Management System and/or the main purpose of their enterprise. The ‘third sector’, comprised of many types of organizations (e.g., non-profits, non-governmental organizations), often have the environment as central to their mandate.

Heidi Levitzky (Environmental Officer, Global Propulsion Systems) and Simon Guan (Sustainability Programs Manager) reflect on their professional experiences with environmental planning and management at General Motors of Canada.




Questions of whom, when and how to engage stakeholders in environmental planning and management continues to grow in importance. Often those involved may have contested values, differing perceptions, and/or various understanding of the issue(s). Assessments and analyses of stakeholders, those involved or affected by the issue directly or indirectly, are valuable for gaining early feedback, potentially leading to better decisions, and ensuring democratic principles (Vogler et al., 2017). Vogler et al. (2017) identify some of the many techniques/tools (e.g., stakeholder analysis table, stakeholder grid, “3 Rs” approach: rights, risks, responsibilities) that have been developed to assist with this important, albeit challenging, aspect of environmental planning and management.  
 

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